The streaming ad game is changing, and Amazon is betting heavily on AI to lead the charge. At its 2025 upfront presentation, the company unveiled a suite of new CTV ad formats for Prime Video, prominently featuring AI-driven contextual pause ads and deeply integrated shoppable experiences. The innovations aim to make advertising not just a break in content, but a seamless, relevant, and actionable part of the viewing journey.
Contextual intelligence: Amazon’s new pause ads leverage AI to analyze on-screen content, dynamically serving viewers messages that resonate with the moment. For instance, pausing a beach scene in “The Summer I Turned Pretty” could trigger an ad for a tropical getaway, or a romantic moment might cue an ad for Hershey’s Kisses. Alan Moss, VP of Global Ads Sales for Amazon Ads, stated, “Based on Amazon’s signals and fully addressable and authenticated audiences, we are uniquely positioned to offer viewers scene-aware ads as extensions of the entertainment experience, not interruptions.”
Seamless shopping: The new ad formats extend directly to e-commerce, allowing viewers to add products featured in ads to their Amazon cart with a click of the remote, pulling real-time details like pricing and reviews. For brands not selling on Amazon, interactive options like “send to phone” or “get a quote” aim to bridge the gap between screen and sale. This direct path to purchase underscores a clear focus on performance and measurable outcomes for advertisers.
Engaged audience: These AI-powered tools will tap into Prime Video’s ad-supported reach of 130 million U.S. viewers monthly, a base where approximately 88% have also shopped on Amazon, according to Adweek. Amazon emphasizes its commitment to “prioritizing ad innovation over volume,” suggesting a strategy focused on quality of interaction rather than sheer quantity of ads. The new formats are slated for availability in the third or fourth quarter of 2025.
Performance proven: While YouTube has also experimented with static pause ads, Amazon’s AI-driven approach to contextual relevance and integrated shopping appears more advanced. Previous interactive ad formats on Amazon have already demonstrated strong results, with company data showing lifts of over 30% in brand awareness and 36% more orders. These new AI capabilities are poised to further refine how brands connect with consumers in the CTV space.
